=> Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has d
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) has decided to stage a big protest demonstration in front of the President House at Islamabad against the ongoing curbs on media including Geo TV and the new laws introduced by Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra).
Punjab Union of Journalists (PUJ) president Arif Hameed Bhatti announced during a protest demonstration against the government’s policy in this regard on Friday.
Representatives of lawyers including Pakistan Supreme Court Bar Association legal advisor Advocate Muhammad Azhar and Khurram Khosa, Pakistan People’s Party Women Wing, Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Khaksaar Tehrik and other organisations also joined the rally to show solidarity with media persons and register their protest about the ongoing situation in the country.
Lahore Press Club president Mohsin Goraya, PUJ joint secretary Amir Suhail, former General Secretary Qamaruz Zaman Bhatti, journalist representatives Khawar Naeem Hashmi, Ijaz Maqbool, Shabbir Mughal and many others were present in the protest rally.
The rally started from the Lahore Press Club to Punjab Assembly. There, PUJ president said that date for staging of the massive PFUJ called demonstration at Islamabad would be announced soon.
Unprecedented curbs on media imposed by the government have compelled journalists to take to the streets and fight for the right of freedom of speech, which the Pakistani Constitution gave them, he added.
He also said that all member unions of PFUJ would participate in the grand protest campaign, which would continue until the government withdraws its unjust curbs on media and the recently introduced Pemra laws. In his address, Mohsin Goraya said that all journalists are united against the curbs and they would not hesitate from any sacrifice to clinch their basic rights.
Geo English Punjab Bureau Chief Shah Riffat Alam told The News that the curbs imposed by the state upon media were quite unreasonable. Pakistani media was already abiding by the publishing and broadcasting standards and they were well aware about the social and political norms of the society and that imposing curbs on them or trying to dictate them by the state is unjustified, he added.
He also said that no democratic country imposed such restrictions on their media while presence of a free media was essential in a developing country because it plays the role of a monitor and a mirror for the society and the government. Riffat Alam also added that restricting media in a developing country could lead the whole nation towards collapse, as media was the only pillar of such society that could expose the follies committed by the people who try to exploit the people or divert the process of development towards their own interests.
There, Amir Suhail said that the recently introduced Pemra laws violated legal and ethical norms as any law is supposed to be introduced after discussing its aspects with all the stakeholders. Pemra laws were developed to please a specific dictating class in the country and that they had nothing to do with betterment of society or people. The protestors were holding banners and placards demanding equal treatment for all media outlets according to their constitutional rights. They were chanting anti-government slogans for imposing curbs on media including Geo TV, The protestors demanded waiving off media curbs and reversal of the Pemra laws.
Meanwhile, the journalists present on the occasion slammed the curbs on media declaring the situation frustrating for both public and media persons. In this regard, Issam Ahmad said it is really annoying to see so much restrictions on the media but it also shows that media is playing a positive role in the society, which the current rulers did not want it to do and they banned Geo TV for that and they had to introduce new laws to fully control the media.
No state is supposed to control the media and the way this regime wanted to do so also expresses that they are frightened of media as they might have believed that media would show to the public something, which they wanted to hide from masses.
Maryam, a young journalist, said that the media in the country was flourishing day by day and every one including the international community is stunned over the rapid growth of media in the country. But, the current curbs and the way this regime has treated the media has left every one in shock because no one was thinking that the same government, which claimed about giving freedom of speech to the masses and the media would all of sudden put such a harsh curbs on the media.
She added though the situation was quite shady now, but she believed that things would change after a while due to the ongoing struggle of the media persons and the massive support of the civil society, which was standing by them for the sake of basic rights of people.
Another participant named Khadija said that the current restrictions imposed by the government upon media exposed the claims about having a democracy in the country as no civilised people would ever bar their media from looking into the government affairs and such situations only occur when the rulers do something illegal and want to hide it from masses.
She added it would really be a big blow to the flourishing media industry and the people involved into it as well because it would cause you a lot of stress if you as a media person are seeing something wrong with your naked eyes but canÃt report it and blow the whistle, which is the primary job of a media person.
Source: The News
Date:12/15/2007
” 
” 
” 
” 
” 
